NCAA East Region: Hoosiers stare down defeat, pull out victory

DAYTON, Ohio – Indiana’s season, the one that’s supposed to end with confetti falling and nets coming down, was minutes from ending.

As the clock ticked down, Hoosiers coach Tom Crean wouldn’t allow himself to thing about defeat.

“That’s when you just pray,” he said.

Request answered.

Victor Oladipo hit a 3 with 14 seconds remaining, and the top-seeded Hoosiers, unable to stop Temple star Khalif Wyatt for most of the game, shut down the Owls’ star in the final 3 minutes of a 58-52 win Sunday in the East Regional.

Down four with 2:56 left, the Hoosiers (29-6) closed with a 10-0 run and made the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.

Wyatt scored 31 points to lead the Owls (24-10), who for 37 minutes gave one of tournament’s three remaining No. 1 seeds all it could handle before collapsing when it mattered most.